Friday, December 27, 2019

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

My review posted on the Best Buy website about one of their fine products I recently purchased.* * *Insignia 80w audio systemFeatures Blast-O-Matic sound [TM]Are you annoyed your audio equipment doesn't reset itself to a high volume to disturb your neighbors? If you set the volume to 3 or even minimum before turning off your unit Insignia's Blast-O-Matic [TM] will make sure the volume jumps to 14 when you turn it back on.Others have complained about the blasting volume feature. When I used the unit a few times no problem, the volume would retain its last setting. I was disappointed I didn't have Blast-O-Matic [TM] but it finally kicked in, making sure my next door neighbor in this apartment building would jumped awake in the middle of the night.* * *

I've
never had a problem with Duracell Batteries until the last batch I
purchased. These batteries were properly stored, taken right out of
the packaging. I picked them up some time ago and I don't have my
receipt. Gee, for some reason I'm switching to Energizer.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Below
is a video I shared on Facebook that really disturbed some sensitive
people:

It
just so happens the two men fighting in the middle of the four lane
highway are black. I would've shared the video if they were white.
Just by sharing this video some inferred I was a racist who enjoys
the suffering of the mentally ill.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

When I
shared the video I did so without any commentary or emoticon. The
page I found the video has deleted it but I remember there were no
racist comments on that page. I replied on Facebook I was only
sharing the video, not any racism. But it was inferred by some
comments I was racist, classist, some who enjoyed the suffering of
the less fortunate.

I
don't have time for this ultra-liberal snowflake bullshit. It has
gotten to the point that ultra-leftists are out to make everyone
conform to what they decided is correct and proper. They inflate one
innocent comment or action into "microaggression," which
is so elastic it can fit almost any situation.

If the
fighters were mentally ill doesn't change the fact what they're doing
is illegal and has attracted attention. You can't stop people from making mean comments. On one FB page someone
commented that one of the men wasn't deranged, he was just baited
into a fight. So would it be OK if we help the snowflakes by leaving
in the sane man in the video and just obscure the other one with
mental problems so that one will laugh at him?

And
how do you stop this incident from being shared? Should it be
omitted by a newspaper in its police blotter? Even without the video
the story will spread by rumor. Let's muzzle anyone who shares this
rumor with duct tape!

After
Melissa ClickI've had it with
ultra-leftist scolds. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld are afraid to
appear at college campuses because their stand-up routines might
cause a precious snowflake to melt into pseudo-righteous anger. I
can't stand ultra-right-winger morons who want everyone to agree with
them ("Trump is a great president, a good person!") And I
can't stand ultra-left-wingers who give purpose to their empty lives
by being morality baiters. Fuck both sides.

(Gee,
I forgot to preface this piece with a trigger warning. Oh well.)

It's
not often I attend a public meeting and hear words like "tyranny"
and "follow the money."

But
some citizens are strongly opposed to the plans for the use of the
DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) grant money awarded to
Plattsburgh City to bring improvements to its downtown.Plattsburgh
Citizens Coalition presented an informational meeting this Wednesday
evening in the second floor Old Courthouse auditorium. This group
was formed to put truth to power, saying that the city is pushing its
own agenda while at key points leaving the public out of the process.

Sylvie
Beaudreau, Plattsburgh State history professor and PCC member,
explained that PCC is not anti-DRi: it's only against how the grant
money is planned to be used, particularly with the Durkee Street
parking lot.

The
city is working with Prime Companies from the Albany area, she said,
on a proposal to remove most of the convenient parking spots to build
a building with 114 high earner apartments. This ignores the
original plan to make the area more of a public space with river
access and an expanded farmers market. The proposed Durkee Street
project was included in a survey and it ranked towards the bottom.
Some of the money will be spent on upgrading empty downtown
storefronts, she added, and smaller projects like that would be
better than putting a major part of the grant into a huge project.

Kevin Farrington

The
next speaker, Kevin Farrington, mentioned how some people had
resigned from the parking committee looking into the creation of new
parking spaces because they felt the city had made up its mind,
ignoring any input from citizens and business owners. The city
thinks it's above the law, he said, referring to the "current
tyranny." He emphasized that the city took the original DRI
framework and changed it to what it wanted. (Note: Kevin's position
as city engineer was eliminated in 2017 as part of the city's budget
cuts.)

Among
other key points presented during the meeting it was mentioned that
if the deal goes through as it now stands with Prime Companies ---
for example the PILOT (Payment In Leui Of Taxes) agreement -- it will
mean a raise in taxes for most residents.

A
Q&A session followed the presentations. One audience member
asked who was benefiting from the Prime deal, was anyone following
the money?

Kevin
Farrington said Mayor Colin Read sits on the Arrow Financial
Corporation’s Board of Directors, the parent company of the Glens
Falls National Bank, receiving millions of dollars in compensation.

After
the meeting I spoke with a couple of speakers about the big hole in
downtown Burlington, Vt. created for another big building project
that so far hasn't materialized. I asked if that could happen with
the Durkee Street parking lot project if Prime didn't follow through.
Both answered in the affirmative.

And
there's another question that others have asked: Who will be able to
afford those high earner apartments in the proposed residential
building? Like they say: Plattsburgh City ain't Burlington. Many
citizens live on a beer, not wine, budget.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Something's
wrong when I end up getting news from Facebook, not the newspaper.

Dr.
Sylvie Beaudreau is an Associate Professor, Northern American
History, at Plattsburgh State University. Also she is a member of
the Plattsburgh Citizens Coalition that is challenging some decisions
made by city government regarding the use of DRI (Downtown
Revitalization Initiative) grant money.

On the
Facebook page Save Durkee Street Parking Lot (post dated 10/3/19) she
shared what she had observed earlier in the evening at the
Plattsburgh City Council meeting.

One
topic was a budget problem that could mean the closure of the public
recreation gym at the old Air Force base property. At the end of the
meeting Mayor Colin Read invited citizens to share comments by
stepping up to the podium.

In her
FB post Sylvie mentioned that Jeanne Clark, former owner of Zuke’s
Subs, walked up and stood across from the mayor, not at the podium.
As usual the meeting was video recorded and the incident can be
viewed here.

After
others made suggestions on how to save the base gym Jeanne challenged
the mayor on what ideas they had. Why should only citizens have to
come up with solutions? In a loud voice she observed: "You're
the mayor... You should have a gazillion solutions on how to save
the gym."

City
Councilor Rachelle Armstrong told Jeanne she was out of order, that
Jeanne could only address the mayor at the podium. (Cynical
observation: "Damn rabble! Stay behind the barricade!")

From the
podium Jeanna asked her question again. The mayor calmly replied
that at the moment it was a city council driven process. So Jeanne
asked: "So you don't have any solutions at this point?"
The mayor calmly repeated his statement about a council driven
process. That left it open to interpretation that the city didn't
have squat for ideas.

I think
such a confrontation is notable because it shows some citizens have
anger towards the mayor, the frustration they feel with his
leadership style. But the next day Press-Republican article about the meeting listed a number of
comments by citizens but omitted the one by the angry citizen.

Some
could argue that it wasn't newsworthy.

While
watching the video I noticed a reporter from WCAX-TV from Burlington,
Vt. (WPTZ-TV, once based in New York State, wasn't there. The news
team probably rushed to Enosburg Falls, Vt. to cover someone's front
lawn crabgrass problem.) So I checked online and found the WCAX News story that included a clip of the confrontation.
At least they thought it was worth mentioning.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Despite
the rainy weather artist Brendon Palmer-Angel (left) was able to
finish the Jean Arthur mural in time for the evening unveiling and
ribbon cutting. The mural is 40 feet high, dominating the back wall
of the old Merchants Bank seen from Protection Alley.

Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Artist Dennis Smyth of Body Art Tattoo holds the reference sketch for a new painted mural on a Durkee Street building wall. He explains the mural is being created for Stop Domestic Violence, the design a mandala that will include a hotline telephone number.

With the sunny weather Dennis thinks the mural will be completed in a couple of days.

Saturday, October 05, 2019

In
the Thursday, October 3 edition of the Press-Republican newspaper
there was a Letter to the Editor concerning photography (see
accompanying image. Click on it to enlarge.) I glanced over the
letter assuming it referred to a city employee. At one time
Plattsburgh City was going around taking photos of hedges intruding
over public sidewalks. Using these photos the city would contact
property owners to trim back their hedges.

Today
someone pointed out that when they read the letter they thought it
referred to me. She mentioned that I was known for taking
photographs of problems in the city.

After
a second read it sounds that the letter writer was referring to me.
Gee, I didn't know I was the official photog in charge of documenting
municipal trouble spots. It appears I've been slipping in
conducting my duty.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY - 9/20/2019After the success of TRASHburgh Comix #0 Matt Hall and friends are back with issue #2, giving local creators a venue for their works. The release party at 30 City Hall Place AKA City Well offered an opportunity to meet the writers and artists.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

For too
long the chasm between Koffee Kat and Heritage Printing has been
dead, empty. Decades ago a fire had destroyed the building that once
sat there at 100 Margaret Street.

But
thanks to the efforts of Joe Ferris the vacant lot is seeing a
rebirth. On Thursday evenings at 5:30 PM (weather permitting) he
conducts a free al fresco figure drawing class. A hay wagon is being
transformed into a performance stage which allows Joe to pose for his
students. This evening only one student is in attendance but it
takes time to build up a following.

Joe aims
to create a nexus for local artists. He feels there's a need for
artists to meet each other and share their interests. That's why the
figure drawing class is free, opening it up to more people to
participate. Students just have to bring along a drawing pad and
pencils.

He
begins his lesson by telling his student to quickly draw him posing
to get the essentials of the image, not to concentrate on details at
first. Even I helped when he quickly sketched me standing, waiting
to take another a shot, for his student. He pointed out to her how I
was leaning more on one leg than the other.

The
student sat in a folding fabric camp chair, comfortable as she
sketched. The setting is informal, a classroom without walls except
for a towering neighboring building on each side. Sawhorses,
plywood, and piles of two-by-fours evince the area is a work in
progress. In one section a barbeque set up stands, waiting for the
next time when Joe and his parents host another cookout with
reasonable prices.

Joe
poses on the stage: fists clenched in a boxing move, standing with
one arm pulled back as if throwing a football, kneeling with his
hands together in prayer. At one point he locks into a position for
abut five minutes allowing the student to take her time to draw in
the details.

Next
week there will another another free drawing class. And as the word
spreads, the group of like-minded creators should grow.

For more
info: facebook.com/joeferrisart. joeferrisart@gmail.com. You can
learn more about the drawing class and also the Saturday barbeque.

Cigarette
smoking killed my mother and two friends. I've witnessed over the
years how cigarettes have addicted people to the point they can't
stop even though they're killing themselves.

I'm
allergic to tobacco smoke, probably caused by being exposed indoors
to my mother's second hand smoke. I don't smoke.

That
said I've found that the reaction to cigarette smoking recently has
gone to inane lengths here in the city.

I
have no problem banning cigarettes from indoor settings, especially
in an apartment building where a careless tenant can cause a fire.
But now Plattsburgh City is trying to ban public smoking through a
local law it passed in February.

Excerpt:

"§
241-5 REGULATING THE USE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS UPON PUBLIC PROPERTY

1.
Definitions. The term "Public Property" means public
buildings and adjacent grounds, streets, sidewalks, parks, and other
publicly owned property, including vehicles owned by the City of
Plattsburgh. The term "Tobacco Product" means cigarette,
cigar, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, electronic nicotine
delivery system (e-cigarettes, vaping, hookahs) in which tobacco or
electronically delivered nicotine is the main ingredient that are
intended for human consumption or use.

2.
It shall be a violation for any person, including any person under
the age of eighteen years, to use or possess a tobacco product or
electronic nicotine delivery system (e-cigarettes, vaping, hookahs)
on public property.

3.
Each instance of Smoking or Tobacco Product use in violation of this
Law shall constitute a separate violation. An offense may be
prosecuted by the issuance of an appearance ticket under §150.20 of
the Criminal Procedure Law."

I
don't see the problem when someone is smoking by themselves, away
from others, on a street or sidewalk or in a park. As long as
someone respects the rights of non-smokers there should be no
problem. We don't live under an enclosed Winooski dome
with restricted air flow. There's plenty of fresh air outside.

Criminalizing
all forms of tobacco will not make smokers stop. And I wonder what
the police think about being directed to enforce such an asshole law.

I'm
overweight. What's next. The Plattsburgh City Common Council will
pass a law for every citizen to meet an arbitrary BMI (body mass
index) standard? Will I be required to report to a weighing station
to make sure my own body is in compliance?

Some
busybodies have complained to the Common Council that the law isn't
being enforced. Enforce that law and you'll see public backlash that
will guarantee the mayor and certain councilors to be butted out of
office.

One
councilor suggested that signs should be posted around the city to
remind everyone of the law. Sure, signs and fines will solve this
health crisis.

Crows
are coming back. Last winter they covered sidewalks and cars with
their smeary feces. Concerned about public health? Do something
about the crapping crows and also the defecating dogs.